Our system has found that you are using an ad-blocking browser add-on.

We just wanted to let you know that our site content is, of course,
available to you absolutely free of charge.

Our ads are the only way we have to be able to bring you the latest
high-quality content, which is written by professional journalists,
with the help of editors, graphic designers, and our site production
and I.T. staff, as well as many other talented people who work around the clock
for this site.

So, we ask you to add this site to your Ad Blocker’s "white list" or
to simply disable your Ad Blocker while visiting this site.

Spacewalking astronauts gave a hand to the International Space Station's big robot arm Tuesday. As the federal government geared back up 250 miles below, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle floated outdoors to install the new mechanical gripper.

Because of the lingering effects of the government shutdown, the spacewalk got started in the morning without live coverage on NASA TV. An on-air message simply stated: "We regret the inconvenience." Nearly an hour into the spacewalk, however, NASA TV came alive and began broadcasting the event with typical blow-by-blow commentary.

Space station operations were largely unaffected by the three-day shutdown. Considered essential personnel, Mission Control kept watch as usual at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Vande Hei performed a similar spacewalk last October, when he replaced the first of two original hands on the Canadian-built arm. This second new hand will go on the opposite end of the 58-foot arm, able to move like an inchworm by grabbing hold of special fixtures.

The bulky bundle of latches -- more than 3 feet, or a meter, long and weighing more than 440 pounds, or 200 kilograms -- needed to be replaced because of wear and tear. It's been in orbit, grabbing cargo capsules and performing other chores, since 2001.

Tingle had to use extra muscle to release a stubborn bolt securing the spare mechanical arm.

Next, the spacewalkers wrested the old, degraded hand from the robot arm.
It was the first spacewalk for Tingle, who arrived last month, and the third for Vande Hei.

"Make us proud out there," astronaut Joe Acaba told the spacewalkers from inside. "We'll have hot chow for you when you get back."

Vande Hei will go back out Monday with another astronaut to finish the job. Then the two Russians on board will conduct a spacewalk Feb. 2 to install a new antenna on their country's side of the outpost.

The space station is home to three Americans, two Russians and one Japanese.